Monday, July 05, 2010

The Morning After The 4th Of July ...

There is no to-do list. All the to-dos are done.

There is another to-do list, of course. There is always a to-do list. But the to-do list for the 4th of July is one for the record books. Or the shredder. I wouldn't want anyone rummaging through my trash and discovering that I had to vacuum the basement and make Rice Krispie Treats, among other things.

Because today is the 5th of July, which never gets any press. Today is a day that will see me tackling the dishes that I didn't tackle last night, and wandering around my lawn picking up sticks from bottle rockets and candy wrappers shed during yesterday's parade.

I have a shindig for the 4th every year, as I live on a parade route, and I really do love the afternoon of Americana, and I loved it even more this year because some friends with wee ones were able to make it. A parade makes much more sense if there are little people seeing it for the first time, eyes wide at all the movement and sound and bopping around in the street to whatever music happens to be nearby.

And the candy. Oh, the candy. The nearly endless candy. I wonder if Baby Jay will go for a walk with his mom and dad today and be near a street and wonder why people aren't pitching handfuls of candy his way.

It's always fun for me, too, to have new guests in my home, folks who haven't seen the house before. After nearly 10 years, it's nice to still give little tours. Sheila announced that my house is like a B&B. I like that notion of it. It is very important to me that my guests feel comfortable here, that my home feels like a place they would want to stay.

Yesterday, post-parade, as Baby Jay ran through the sprinkler, Sheila said, "Did I mention we're the types who never leave?"

I told her we'd be fine, as long as the brownies held out.

Oh, brownies.

Shouldn't we eat them every day?

I think there would be much less strife in the world if everyone upped their consumption of brownies. Who can wage a war or intentionally plunder the financial system while enjoying a brownie? Some people, I'm sure, but fewer.

Perhaps that should be my life's work: waging peace through baked goods. (Hmm. "Harmony" just took on extra meaning for me.)

Anyway, the 4th is done, for another 364 days. The house is mostly back in order. My fridge is uncharacteristically stocked with food. And it is not yet 7 a.m. The day stretches out before me.